BeamBooks FAQ

1. General Questions

I want to give a book to a friend, but they don't have BeamBooks. What do I do?

First go to Applications and beam the BeamBooks application to them, then go back into BeamBooks and beam the book to them. You may want to BeamSync with them as well so they can find out about other books they can get.

I'm tired of being reminded to register. How can I get rid of that annoying reminder?

Register! For only $20, you can register BeamBooks. Not only will the reminder dialogs go away forever, but you'll be supporting development of future versions of BeamBooks with cool new features. It takes only a few minutes to register online with your credit card: go to http://www.appliedthought.com/beambooks/register.html.

2. Compatibility

I've got an older model Palm organizer. Will it run BeamBooks?

BeamBooks requires Palm OS 3.0 or later and infrared beaming hardware, so it won't run on the original Pilot or on the PalmPilot series, unless they've been upgraded with the Palm 2 meg upgrade card. BeamBooks will also run fine on the Palm III, IIIx, IIIe, V, and VII, as well as corresponding IBM models.

I'm left handed. Is there any way to get BeamBooks to put the scroll bars on the left side of the screen?

Yes, BeamBooks works with Lefty to support left-handed users. Install and run the Lefty app to tell it you're left handed. Then run BeamBooks, and the scroll bars will appear on the left hand side. Note that BeamBooks is not compatible with LeftHack. If you use LeftHack, you should also use Lefty to make BeamBooks work properly.

To learn more about Lefty, see http://www.strout.net/pilotsoft/lefty/intro.shtml.

To learn more about LeftHack, see http://www.interlog.com/~nbridges/lefthack.html.

3. Troubleshooting

I'm having trouble getting BeamSync to establish a connection. What can I do?

First, make sure the organizers are aligned and about a foot apart. Bringing them closer than that won't help. If you're outdoors, get in the shade: direct sunlight can interfere with the beam. If you're syncing two different Palm models, it may be harder to sync, since not all models have the same beaming hardware. And don't forget: you have to press the BeamSync button on both organizers before the sync will start.

I see duplicate pages in the list. How did they get there and how do I get rid of them?

If two people edit the same page and then BeamSync, both versions of the page will be kept, just as HotSync duplicates records edited on both the Palm and the desktop. Either person can choose to get rid of the duplicate page. If the same change was made to both pages, simply delete one. If different changes were made, you'll probably want to use cut and paste to integrate the changes. Once you've edited one version so it has all the changes you want, delete the other version.

It won't let me edit a book cover. Why not?

Only the person who created the book can do that. If you feel the book cover needs to be changed, use the "Details..." menu item to find out who created the book, and ask them to make the change. If you're the author of the book, and you'd like to let other people edit as much as possible, keep the description of the book nice and short, and put more detailed information about the book, including how it should be used in an introduction page. To make sure the introduction always appears at the top of the list of pages, put a space at the start of the page title.

I found a book I want and said so, but I still don't have it. What's wrong?

You'll only get the book when you BeamSync with someone who has it. To find who might have the book, tap the "Details" button.

Someone just beamed me a book, but now I can't find it. Where did it go?

When you receive a private book, it will only appear in the list if you choose to show private records in the Security application. If you've set it to hide private records, you'll get a warning dialog when you receive the book, explaining this. To see the book, use the Security application to show private records, then go back to BeamBooks.

I just BeamSynced with someone, but there are books he has that aren't in either of my book lists. Why?

You may be able to see his private books on his organizer, but they won't show up on your organizer. The only way to get these books is to have him beam them to you.

4. Tips and Tricks

I'm using BeamBooks for a shared to-do list. How can I get done items to appear after items still to do, and high priority items to appear before low priority items?

The pages are always kept in alphabetic order, but there are tricks for getting alphabetic order to be the order you want. To get done items to appear after those still to do, prefix the items still to do with a minus sign (a dash). When you've done an item, replace the minus with a plus sign. To get your to do items to appear in priority order, put a digit after the minus or plus sign, using 1 for top priority. For example:

-1.Fix crash bug
-4.Fix minor bug
+1.Recover from backup after hard disk crash
+3.Check spelling

How can I get my introduction page to appear at the top of the list of pages?

Put a space before the name of the introduction page. That way, it'll appear before all other pages in the alphabetic order.

The pages of my book are in alphabetic order. I want to choose the order. What can I do?

The pages are always kept in alphabetic order, but there are tricks for getting alphabetic order to be the order you want. One such trick is to prefix each page title with a number, and choose the numbers so to get the order you want. For example: "1. Introduction", "2. Conclusion". However, if you need to insert a page, this will require changing the titles of all the pages following it. To avoid this, you can use bigger numbers like 100, 200, and so on.

I'm tired of going to the menu to see the book cover of a book I have. Is there an easier way?

Yes: when you're in the list of pages in a book, tapping on the book title at the top of the screen will take you to the book cover. From there, you can edit the book cover or get to the details with a single tap. If you use MenuHack, tapping on the book title at the top of the screen will pop up the menu, so you'll have to select the "Book Cover..." menu item.

Is there a way to read a book without using the stylus?

Yes. Choose the book you want to read and tap on the first page, then put the stylus away. Use the scroll down button to scroll through the page if necessary, then when you reach the bottom, press the scroll down button again, and it'll beep and go to the top of the next page. You can read the entire book using just the one button.

I'm tired of going back to the list of books to BeamSync. Is there an easier way?

Yes. Use the Buttons panel in the Preferences application to set one of the 4 buttons to BeamBooks. Now you can instantly run BeamBooks, even when your organizer is off. Holding down the button will start a BeamSync, no matter what you're doing. You can also press the button to get back to the list of books, and once there, to switch between books you have and books you can get. Since BeamBooks makes a good replacement for the built in Memo Pad application, you'll probably want to use the Memo Pad button to run BeamBooks.

5. Understanding Features

How do I keep other people from reading one of my books?

If you created the book, you can mark it as private. As with private records in other applications, private books can only be read if you choose to show private records in the Security application, and you have to enter your password to do that. In addition, when you BeamSync with someone, your private books won't appear in their list of available books, so no one will even know you have the book. If you want someone else to have the book too, you can beam it to them using the "Beam Book" menu item, in which case later BeamSyncs will sync changes made to the book, just as with public books. Anyone who has the book can beam it to someone else.

Will I ever lose data when I BeamSync with someone else?

You'll never lose data unless someone intentionally deletes it or edits it out. If you want to keep total control over the content of a book, make it private and don't beam it to anyone. In some books, each page is maintained by one person. For example, a book might have a page for each person's review of a restaurant. Please follow such guidelines. If you disagree with a review, add your own review page. When you create a book, you can decide how it'll be arranged. The right organization will help avoid data loss and minimize page duplication.

Can I undo a BeamSync?

No. Once you've synced, there is no way to go back and see the pages as they were.

How do I get data into BeamBooks from other applications such as Memo Pad?

In this initial release, you have to use cut and paste to get data into BeamBooks. Future releases will support importing an entire category of memos or to do items in one fell swoop.

Can I sync with someone over the Internet?

No, not in this version of BeamBooks. You can export a book and email it to a friend, but if your friend already has the book, installing it will overwrite, causing data loss. Internet sync is planned for a future version of BeamBooks.